Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa to order release of water due to Kerala under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project agreement in view of the unprecedented drought in Palakkad district and the hardships faced by the farmers of the district.
In a letter to the Tamil Nadu counterpart, Mr. Chandy said that it was the legal obligation of Tamil Nadu to release water to the weir at Manakkadavu as per the agreement. Kerala had no other water source to solve the drought conditions in Palakkad district.
He expressed happiness about the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Joint Water Regulatory Board on December 26 with a view to save the agricultural crops in the Chittoor Ayacut. The representatives of Tamil Nadu had assured at the meeting that 1453 million cubic feet of water could be released against the 1750 million cubic feet of water due to the State between December 15, 2012 and January 31, 2013 under the agreement. However, Kerala required the entire quantum of 1750 million cubic feet considering the drought conditions in Palakkad district and the irrigation needs of the district.
The Kerala Chief Minister also called upon the Ms. Jayalalithaa to ensure that the full reservoir level is maintained at Sholayar on February 2013 as specified in the agreement. It was necessary to alter current level of power generation to make up for the shortage of water in the Sholayar reservoir in Tamil Nadu.
